Madden NFL 12 Review - Xbox 360

Game Description:Madden NFL 12 continues the rich tradition of the storied Madden franchise by bringing fans closer to the NFL than ever before. Madden NFL 12 delivers Everything You See On Sunday including all 32 NFL teams, stadiums, and every player in the league- all with the level of authenticity that fans have come to expect. Whether playing your rival on the couch or online, leading your favorite team to the Super Bowl in Franchise mode, or building a dream team in Madden Ultimate Team, Madden NFL 12 captures all the drama of the NFL.

Madden NFL 12 Review

The Madden series is as dependable as the calendar when it comes to marking time. This year's edition is better in some ways, but not as good in many others, as its predecessor. The end result is a surprisingly hollow version of the normally outstanding football simulation.

The Pros

Solid, dependable Madden experience remains mostly unchanged

Improvements like Cut Days and customizable playbooks are nods to fans

New collision system makes hits look vicious

The Cons

Game presentation is a little off from previous iterations

Online play has some lag issues

Too much extra content without attention being paid to the game itself

Madden NFL 12 Review:

Like an old friend once again returned to mark the passage of the years, Madden NFL 12 comes to us to remind us that, though there might have been a chance we'd lose the actual 2011-2012 football season, we were never in danger of not getting our hands on a copy of EA Sports's flagship game. However, some of the uncertainty of the world of actual football seems to have crept in, and makes the overall effect feel like there was too much work to get done at the last moment, leaving the game with a sort of hollow feel.

Don't get me wrong. Madden NFL 12 is still good, and it's certainly not a disaster by any means, but it does feel like the venerable franchise has taken a step backward in a lot of ways, which is a little disappointing.

What's Best For the Team

On the positive side of things, EA has placed a lot of importance on making changes that fans have been requesting for a long time, which means that, finally, you can create a custom playbook for your team, or change teams at the end of a franchise season. One of the most simultaneously satisfying and sad changes is the addition of Cut Days, which allows your to cut your 75-man roster through the course of the preseason, to allow you to get to your final team. There were long moments spent contemplating who to cut, and players' pleas on the way out don't make it any easier.

Also, you can now practice with your franchise team between games and before playoff games, which means that you get the chance to gameplan without having to make it count, just like you would in real life. Free agency has been beefed up, too, to get a little closer to the Wild Wild West feel of the offseason we just experienced in real life, allowing you to bid against the other 31 teams in the league to get to the player you want.

There are some curiosities, however, and I firmly believe that these are related to the uncertainty of the NFL in this offseason. Madden calls itself the most realistic football simulation there is, but, if that's the case, why don't I have a 90-man roster going into this season? Contract negotiations are based on old numbers, not the way the CBA has dictated new contracts go. These are nitpicky items, for sure, but if you only claim to do one thing and do it well, you should do it completely.

Madden has always been at the forefront of sports gaming when it comes to presentation, often providing some of the best HD experiences one can have in the world of gaming, and this year's edition is still beautiful, with extra attention being paid to new cinematics and introductions that are truly breathtaking. The problem, however, is that some of the things that are typically so well done are a little off this time out. For example, your field goal team will have just finished kicking, and it will cut to an animation of an offensive huddle with completely different personnel, including your QB, who is actually on the bench.

The commentary, provided by Cris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson, is good, but often repetitive. Playing franchise mode with the Eagles, I heard Collinsworth's description of Nnamdi Asomugha in exactly the same way in each and every game. Also, not every stadium is one of the most difficult places to play on the road, but every stadium is certainly described that way.

Wrong players being namechecked, wrong numbers called, and splintered voiceover during which Johnson gamely asks questions that are never answered only adds to the confusion, which is so not like Madden that it's startling.

Never Trust Your Coordinators

Returning in a new way is the GameFlow system from Madden NFL 11, which means that your offensive and defensive coordinators call plays for you, and all you have to do is press 'A' to send them in. Here's the problem. Your coordinators are often wrong. The other team's AI is smart enough to recognize that you've run four play action passes in a row, and loads up accordingly. They are, unfortunately, smarter than your own coaching staff, which keeps calling the same play action a fifth time, ensuring a deep sack.

What it means is that you're going to have to be vigilant and learn the game and the plays you can call, instead of depending on the computer to do it for you. It's so frequently wrong that it seems like the plays might be picked at random. Also, with hundreds of plays at your disposal, why does the system continue to pick the same five plays over and over again? It's a conundrum.

Also, just so you know, if you're playing in franchise mode, even if you've been murdering teams over and over again, if you choose to simulate a game, you WILL lose that game, even if the other team is vastly inferior. Also, every two or three games you simulate means that one of your superstar players is lost for the season. It seems much more than simply random. Be aware.

Let's Play Together!

Online is, of course, really comprehensive, with head-to-head and 3-on-3 online co-op still at the forefront. Of course, when I played online, it was very, very laggy, causing my opponent (who I didn't know) to ask for a friendly quit after one quarter. The cool new online feature is Online Communities, which allows you to create and join a community of up to 2,000 players who share your preferences for online play, whether that be game length, injuries, penalties, or any number of other variables. You can play ranked matches within your community, or against other communities. This seems like a good way to weed out some of the chaff in the Madden community to make sure you get the experience you want.

Madden NFL Ultimate Team, the football version of Magic the Gathering, remains from last year if you like your football a little more on the theoretical side. New to Ultimate Team is the ability to trade players, which is nice. Madden Moments are back, consistently one of the more fun parts of the game, and this year's edition is no different, though four of the five Moments that come unlocked with the game are nearly impossible to accomplish.

Are We Rebuilding?

Overall, Madden NFL 12 is going to be satisfying to Madden fans who buy the game year after year, regardless of what's changed and what's not. Usually, steps forward are made in the franchise, but this year, it seems that the steps forward have been made in the parts of the game that aren't the fundamentals. In other words, it's just fine to add lots and lots of extras, but when the core game takes a step backward, you need to really think of what's important.

As I said earlier, I can't help but think that a lot of this has to do with the fluctuation in the world of the NFL over the offseason, and the uncertainty of what football would look like when it returned. Maybe it left a lot undone until the last minute, but this year's edition of Madden feels like a stopgap, as if we should just be happy it's here, and not necessarily expect too much more than that.

i thought that this game was pretty dammmmm good, wit the presentation, the new collision system is good, which it should of been like that, and players finally get dirty, and 3D grass for ten yards lmao and these feature should of been there, i love the game, but its like all these features should of been in here, so im finally enjoying a fully next gen football game

EA's strategy to make money off NFL fans and the average gamer. Step one: Make a NFL football game. Step two: release the NFL football game yearly with few or no changes or improvements. Step three: Watch and laugh as the game and football fans wasting their money buying the same game year after year. It's time to stop paying sixty dollars for a roster change every year

Your review while being in-score perfect, misses a large amount of the key flaws of the game. The voice acting is recycled, to the point of insanity for any but the most casual fans. The improvements are merely simple additions, rather than anything truly content altering or trailblazing. While I do not feel like I have purchased the same game with a simple haircut, like I have in previous incantations and this years' NCAA title, it still feels like a lackluster effort given the money that EA has and the straight $$$$$$ the Franchise brings in (It should given it is the sole possessor of the NFL license).Either way, your review felt like it was made by a person who has just started playing this franchise and given the depth of your El Shaddai coverage and review I would hope to think something that is socially, culturally and financially relevant to Video Gaming would be given equal attention/care.-Much Love CL

Its another trick. EA is terrible period. If you need your NFL fix just play fantasy football this game is worthless if you really know and love football. The writer said it best, Too much extra content without attention being paid to the game itself. This will def be the last time I let EA trick me into buying another glorified roster update. If you want a truly authentic game that will continue to impress buy literally any sports game from 2ksports. 2k11 was quite possible the best sports game I've ever played. Only complaint was the dribbling and they fixed it for 2k12. Do ur self a favor and leave this one on the shelf where it belongs.

I love pro football but Im not a big NCAA football fan. However, when it comes to playing the games its the opposite. Every year I do the same, buy NCAA, rent Madden so I can see how it plays. My connection isnt strong enough to play online so Im stuck playing single player until the job Im on is over and I can go home. Madden could be great if it had goals, other than winning games, like NCAA's coaching contracts. Heck, if the be the star mode is anything like the actual pro's, I'd be lazy too. NFL contracts have inscentives, that would be perfect for something like say, a video game. I started a brand new qb in Madden the other day and got drafted by the Colts with an overall rating of 62, and I was the started. Didnt have to work my way up through practices, didnt have to worry about getting cut, i was the starter and Manning was #2. If you want a football game that fun for single player, skip madden and get NCAA 12. In My Opinion, its the better game and worth the money.

I think the person playing the Madden Demo above needs some extra coaching, especially passing the ball. All his passes were to covered receivers. Instead of throwing to the open receiver, he would just "hail Mary" it in the endzone. He deifitely got lucky catching a pass in the Endzone! But please practice more or have someone who actually plays maddden running the mo

NFL 2K5 is still the king of NFL football games!!! Every year EA tries but to no avail. This years Madden is better than the past years for sure, but they still don't hold a candle to this years or last years NCAA Football!!

I thought it is good so far. I havent bought Madden since '08, b.c I dont want to shell out 60 a year. My favorite Chris Collinsworth fail so far is him calling Tom Brady MVP quarterback, Kyle Brady, I am a huge PSU fan, so I got huge chuckle with that.

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